


There Are No Silent Nights

by hcwlingnights



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Night Terrors, Unintentional Self Harm, betty is insecure and veronica is gonna fix that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-09 00:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10400124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hcwlingnights/pseuds/hcwlingnights
Summary: Betty suffers from severe night terrors, and the Lodge family makes it their business to do everything in their power to remedy this.





	

Veronica knew that Betty had demons.

How could she not, with her overbearing, bitchy mother pushing her to be her own ideal of perfect, her sister locked away, and Cheryl-Queen-Bitch-Blossom just twisting the knife in deeper. Veronica knew that she had to watch Betty's hands closely when they were in any scenario that could trigger her, or she'd be tending to the wounds left by her nails later, with Betty protesting that she didn't have to do that for her the entire time. She knows that it kills Betty that they have to hide their relationship from her mother, and she knows that only adds to her inner demons, feeding into her insecurities that Veronica could do so much better than her. What Veronica didn't know, was that those demons wouldn't even leave Betty alone in her slumber. 

* * *

 

The first time Veronica realized that Betty suffered from night terrors was when she'd had Betty over to her house to binge watch all three High School Musicals. By the time they'd finished both girls looked like they were half asleep already, and Veronica practically forbade Betty from driving home like she'd planned to do. Besides, they'd been dating for a few months and they'd yet to have a sleepover. Veronica was too sleepy to notice the nervousness in Betty's eyes at the proposal of sleeping over, and how it deepened when Betty eventually relented and agreed, the logic that if she got into a car wreck on the way home she'd never be able to see her gorgeous girlfriend again.

So the girls dragged themselves upstairs, Veronica lending Betty some pajamas that, due to the height difference between them, made Betty's legs look so fabulous that had they not both been so damn tired the sight might've led Veronica to engage in some more adult activities.

When the girls finally laid down on the bed, Veronica instantly curled up next to Betty, enjoying the extra time they got to spend together and how rare this felt to be able to fall asleep with her head rested on the one she loved. She completely missed that despite how tired they both were, Betty was fighting sleep in favor of keeping her eyes open and glued to the ceiling. As hard as she tried, Betty was slowly dragged off to sleep, however briefly she managed to stay asleep.

* * *

 

It wasn't but a few hours lately when Veronica woke up to muffled whimpers and Betty shaking against her. Instantly Veronica's eyes flew open as she realized what was happening, and she switched on the lamp perched on her nightstand to be able to assess the situation better. Betty's face was contorted in terror, and every now and then her whimpers would stop to allow for a silent scream to fall from her lips, as though even in her subconscious Betty was attempting to be quiet as to not disturb Veronica. A piece of Veronica shattered inside to see Betty so distraught, and immediately she surged to gentle shake her shoulders.

"Betty _mi amor_ , please wake up. It's alright, everything's okay."

When that failed to bring Betty out of her internal prison, she resulted to merely clutching onto her tightly, leaving kisses on her neck, her lips, all over her face, anything to try to console the girl she loved so dearly in these dark times as tears ran freely down her face.

After a while Betty stilled, seeming calmer, before slowly opening her eyes to meet Veronica's. When she did Veronica sobbed out loud, burying her face in the crook of Betty's neck.

"I couldn't wake you up Betts, you were so scared and I couldn't wake you up, I'm so sorry I couldn't wake you." She blurted out, ashamed that she was the one who was crying after Betty had clearly suffered from an awful nightmare. As realization struck Betty as to what had happened, she blushed deeply.

"It's not your fault V… nobody can wake me when I get my night terrors, not even Polly could. I-I shouldn't have stayed over, I didn't mean to startle you." Betty murmured, biting her lip. She began to sit up, shaking her head. "I-I should go, I don't want to cause you any trouble." And she certainly didn't want to cause Veronica any reason to find her flawed enough to dump. Nobody wanted to deal with someone who's got as many problems as Betty has, let alone someone who wakes you up in the middle of the night screaming or thrashing about. She was far too damaged, and Veronica deserved better. Before she could get up to leave though, Veronica had grasped Betty's hand, a look of pure shock on her face.

"Betty, you don't have to go anywhere. You're staying right here with me, as long as you want to. I don't care if you wake me, I care that you're in pain. Please, just tell me how to help."

It was then Betty realized she was the luckiest girl in the world, and she knew that she'd never deserve Veronica, for all that she's done for her. 

* * *

 

After that night, Betty began sleeping over at the Lodge residence every night. Hermione didn't question it, she trusted the girls with the door shut, and knew better than to question why Betty was suddenly a staple part of their evenings. Hermione certainly didn't mind having Betty around, she'd practically adopted her into the family even before she saw her every day.

While Betty was still self conscious of her night terrors at first, she took to Veronica's cuddles each night before bed with ease. She didn't have nightmares every night, but they certainly were frequent, and it was nice to not wake up to the dark alone. Instead, she woke up to Veronica's face, gradually less concerned and more sympathetic, and the soft glow of a lamp Veronica began to leave on once she realized Betty calmed much quicker with some gentle lighting.

It took Betty about a month to get more comfortable with their new arrangement, and for a while the night terrors subsided. She went a solid week with no nightmares whatsoever, and the girls began to think the worst of it was over.

Betty shrieking at the top of her lungs and thrashing about in the sheets was the wake up call. It startled Veronica so much that she tumbled off the bed. She'd never been around Betty when her nightmares were this bad, and she froze for a moment before climbing back into bed and scooping her up into her arms, taking her wrists and trying to keep her still to avoid Betty hurting herself or her. As she grabbed her wrists, she paled as she saw she was a tad too late to prevent injury, Betty's palms bleeding from where she'd dug her nails in deep enough for blood to be dripping down her wrists onto the bedsheets.

Ronnie had refrained from crying at the sight of Betty's night terrors since the first night, knowing it only made Betty feel guilty with the knowledge that she was the reason her girlfriend was shedding tears, but she couldn't help but begin to bawl at the sight in front of her. The sounds Betty was making were purely guttural, as though someone was tearing out her heart, and her face looked purely tortured in agony.

Hermione and Smithers both bursted into the room, horrified expressions on their faces as they took in the blood and the scene before them. Veronica explained quickly through tears everything that had happened. Why Betty had been staying over so frequently, and the severity of her night terrors. She could see the light flicker out in her mother's eyes along with Smithers' as she explained they could do nothing to stop the terrors except wait it out. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't help Betty until the nightmares were done doing their damage.

Eventually Betty's eyes flew open and she gasped a breath of air, looking skittishly around the room until she realized where she was. Instantly she buried her face into Veronica, sobbing as quietly as she could. She'd already woken everyone in the household, she didn't need to be any louder. Veronica gripped her tightly, thanking God that it was over, at least for tonight. She kissed Betty over and over, murmuring sweet nothings in her ear as her mother watched, silent tears streaking down her face as well.

"Th-They were h-hurting you V. They w-were hurting y-you and I couldn't stop them. You k-kept begging me to and I couldn't do i-it." Betty whispered the words as though she didn't want to put them out into the universe at all, but she knew Veronica needed to know. She owed her that much after all she was putting her through.

Fresh tears sprang to Veronica's eyes, and she gripped Betty closer.

"Nobody is going to hurt me _mi amor_. I promise you Betts, nobody is going to take me away from you." She whispered, and in the moment she vowed that she would never leave this beautiful, kind girl in her arms. She could feel Betty nod against her, but she could also feel the tremors that still wrecked her body. Veronica cast a glance up at Smithers, and without either of them speaking a word, he left, only to return a short while later with a tray carrying three cups of camomile tea. Veronica accepted a cup graciously, and after Hermione had taken her cup, Smithers gently lowered the tray towards Betty.

"Miss Betty, please take this. It'll help calm you down and warm you up some." He said, voice tinged with a softness Veronica had never heard before. Veronica knew that Smithers was a kind and chivalrous man, but she'd never seen him act so absolutely ginger before. As Betty reached out to take the cup, she noticed the blood spilling from her palms for the first time and quickly retracted them, looked embarrassed. Smithers too had forgotten about her injuries, and set the tray aside, leaving the room once more to return with medical gauze, which he offered to Veronica. Veronica began to bandage Betty's hand, as both girls listened to Smithers captivated as he began to tell them tales of his own life.

"You know Miss Betty, I use to get bad night terrors as well," He began, slowly and softly, cringing slightly as he reminisced but continuing none the less. "I served in Desert Storm when I was in my thirties, and for the longest time after that I couldn't get the images of what I witness out of my head. But somehow, I did. Your mother," Smithers nodded his head towards Veronica, "offered me a job here. My salary was and still is too generous, and having this purpose took my mind off of things. Now I don't know if it'll be the same for you Miss Betty, but if it's any solace, there is the chance of things getting better."

As he finished, he reached out and squeezed Betty's shoulder gently, fixing to stand until Betty placed her now bandaged hand over his, stopping him.

"Thank you Smithers. It… it means a lot to me." She said softly, meeting his eyes. Smithers smiled warmly at her, and stood, bowing slightly.

"Do try to get some rest girls." He said gently, before taking his leave.

Veronica's attention drifted over to her mother, who'd she'd forgotten was in the room, to find her sitting at her desk on her laptop (how her mother knew her password was an issue she'd address later), to see her printing something out.

"Mom? What are you doing?" Veronica asked curiously, trying to catch a glimpse of the paper clutching delicately in her mother's hands.

Hermione just smiled, and shook her head. "Nothing that needs to be addressed right now _mija_. You girls try to rest, even if you don't sleep just rest your minds and your eyes, alright? Everything will be alright in the morning." She assured them, then left the room leaving both girls bewildered and mildly worried for whatever Mama Lodge had planned.

* * *

  
The next morning Hermione woke up early, set to begin her mission. She made the girls a decadent breakfast for when the managed to get downstairs, and she was off. Hermione barged into the Cooper residence after ringing their doorbell enough times to be more than overkill.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing Hermione?" Alice seethed, clearly not a fan of being woken up so earlier and so rudely, especially to be face-to-face with a Lodge.

"You're going to sign this Alice." Hermione said simply, thrusting the paper she'd printed out last night along with a pen into Alice Cooper's hands. "I'm taking Betty to see a specialist in polysomnography, and their need a parent's consent for anyone outside the family to take her. I'll be covering all the expenses, all you need to do is sign." Her tone was no nonsense, and it was clear that Hermione would be getting that signature one way or another.

Still, Alice Cooper narrowed her eyes. "Why do you even care? Betty just needs to get over them, they're just silly nightmares and she's overreacting about it."

The urge to punch Alice clear across the face was strong, but Hermione settled for a growl. "Because even if Betty isn't my daughter, I'm going to make damn well sure someone in this town acts like the mother she deserves. Now sign the damn paper before I have to forge your signature." As predicted, Alice begrudgingly signed the papers and shooed Hermione off her property before she called the police. Hermione didn't care. She'd gotten what she'd come for, and she'd gotten Betty the help she needed.

* * *

  
When Hermione returned home and told Veronica and Betty the news, Veronica instantly tackled her mother in a bear hug, thanking her over and over again. Betty, stood still as a statue, shocked at Hermione's kind gesture. As Hermione explained that they'd all be flying out to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in a week for Betty to talk to a professional that deals with night terrors, Betty remained just as speechless.

"M-Miss Lodge, I'll never be able to repay you." She finally whispered, voice will with awe and mild confusion. Surely Hermione knew that she couldn't afford this, that neither household could. If Hermione was expecting reimbursement, surely she knew Alice would never do such a thing. And if she was just doing this all out of pocket at her own expense…

Hermione strode over to Betty, and hugged her tightly. "Betty, you repay every day that Veronica comes home radiating happiness and telling Smithers and myself about how content you make her feel." She said softly, pulling away to be able to look Betty in the eyes. "I'm the one indebted to you. I'll never be able to repay you for taking care of my daughter's heart as well as you have, and as well as I'm sure you'll continue to. You're family Betty, and I don't want anyone in my family hurting from something that can be fixed, do you understand me?"

Betty didn't understand in the moment, she didn't understand what she'd done to deserve such wonderful people in her life. But after she and Veronica had finished college in New York together, having been nightmare free for the last six years, she began to. As they stood at an alter swearing their loyalty to each other, and as Betty became Elizabeth "Betty" Lodge, night terror free for thirteen years, she understood. For the people you love, you'd do absolutely anything to spare them pain, expecting nothing in return.

Finally, Betty felt like she deserved this. Like she deserved her new family, that had always been her family, ever since they moved to Riverdale. She deserved the undivided love from her partner. She deserved the night terror free sleep she now experienced. And she was happy.

**Author's Note:**

> So obviously I had to have some sweet Mama Lodge and Smithers in here, because you know they'd both do anything for the girl that makes Veronica so happy.


End file.
